Gospel of Peace

“ What can we do more, my sons, we who, simply placing our lives in the hands of the good God who gave them, penetrate unarmed, and with naught of defence but the Gospel of Peace, to the furthest confines of this dark land? ”

“ Christ's ministers go into all the world, to say, in Christ's name, Peace be to you. First, We are to propose peace to all, to preach peace by Jesus Christ, to proclaim the gospel of peace, the covenant of peace, peace on earth, and to invite the children of men to come and take the benefit of it. Secondly, We are to pray for peace to all. We must earnestly desire the salvation of the souls of those we preach to, and offer up those desires to God in prayer ”

“ Therefore, dear brethren and sisters, awake, and make straight paths for your feet, that you may always be prepared for the Gospel of peace, which calls us only to peace, for beautiful are the feet of them that fear the Lord. ”

“ Should we take the word preparation in its common acceptation, it may imply that, by a conscientious belief of the Gospel, receiving the salvation provided by its author, and walking in the way of obedience which is pointed out by it, the soul is prepared for the kingdom of heaven.
The Gospel is termed the Gospel of peace, because it establishes peace between God and man, and proclaims peace and good will to the universe. Contentions, strife, quarrels, and all wars, being as alien from its nature and design, as they are opposed to the nature of Him who is love and compassion to man. ”

“ We are at peace with all nations, with all kingdoms, with all powers, with all governments, with all authorities under the whole heavens, except the kingdom and power of darkness, which are from beneath, and are ready to stretch forth our arms to the four quarters of the globe, extending salvation to every honest soul; for our mission in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth; and the blessing of the Lord is upon us; and when every other arm shall fail, the power of the Almighty will be manifest in our behalf ”

“ The peace that comes from friendship with Him, the peace that fills a heart tranquil because satisfied, the peace that soothes a conscience emptied of all poison and robbed of all its sting, the peace that abides because, on all the horizon in front of us nothing can be seen that we need to be afraid of—that peace is the peace which the Gospel brings, and it is realised in warfare and is consistent with it. ”

“ Let that be our prayer, that we may know what it is to be sheltered behind the blood of God’s dear Son. The blood of the cross speaks peace. If I am sheltered behind the blood, there is peace, but there is no peace until my sin is covered. If you had committed sin against a man, you would get no peace until that was forgiven. Men are running after peace; and if it could be bought in the market, many would give hundreds of thousands of pounds to secure it. The blood of Christ speaks peace, and it will bring peace to every guilty conscience and aching heart to-day if you only seek it. ”

“ That even under the gospel of peace and reconciliation by Christ (of which the intercession of Moses was typical) the moral law should continue to bind believers. ”

“ A risen Christ is the eternal proof of an accomplished redemption; and if redemption is an accomplished fact, the believer's peace is a settled reality. We did not make peace, and never could make it; indeed, any effort on our part to make peace could only tend more fully to manifest us as peace-breakers. But Christ, having made peace by the blood of His cross, has taken His seat on high, triumphant over every enemy. By Him, God preaches peace. The word of the gospel conveys this peace; and the soul that believes the gospel, has peace—settled peace before God, for Christ is his peace. ”

“ The peace and goodwill which the message of the angels promised is, in fact, within the scope of Christianity, and might be realized in the world at large, but solely on the condition of the true methods being observed—on condition, that is, of Christ, and the law of Christ, being acknowledged from the heart as the true and only source of peace and truth and goodwill, and on the condition of penitent, humble, and earnest devotion to Him. That is the one supreme condition on which peace to the world is promised by the Gospel. ”

“ They are living in the midst of that world of passion and violence and tyrannical domination of which I have spoken, and yet they speak to us in tones of the most profound peace, and joy, and hope, and even exultation. The reason is that, through faith in our Lord, in His sacrifice, and in the promise of His spirit, they have found peace with God—the peace of which the angels spoke; they live in the blessed assurance of His goodwill, and they look forward with infinite rejoicing to His return, to establish, as He promised, a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. ”

“ He preached the gospel of peace and salvation unto men, himself an Angel of the true peace, ordained of God to follow in the likeness of the Forerunner, that, preparing in the desert the way of sublimest Poverty, he might preach repentance by his ensample and words alike. ”

“ XVI. Peace and War It is the duty of Christians to seek peace with all men on principles of righteousness. In accordance with the spirit and teachings of Christ they should do all in their power to put an end to war.
The true remedy for the war spirit is the gospel of our Lord. The supreme need of the world is the acceptance of His teachings in all the affairs of men and nations, and the practical application of His law of love. ”

“ May God bless the peace that has been established, and enable his people in a thankful spirit to avail themselves of it for the circulation of his Word, the spread of his Gospel, the promotion of his kingdom, and the glory of his name! ”

“ What a blessed message is it, that there is a peace, and a perfect peace attainable in the midst of wars, confusions, and calamities of the times, public and personal; a perfect peace, a complete peace, even complete without the accession of outward and worldly peace, that needs it not; nay, appears most perfect and entire in itself, when it is stripped naked of them all. Behold what a privilege the gospel offers unto you! ”

“ We sympathize with all these nations, and can only hope that the Lord will make it possible, after the war, that the missionaries will be better able to reach the people with the gospel of peace and salvation. ”

“ We cannot have peace unless we have God for our portion. But how can God, the righteous governor of the universe, be at peace with us sinners? To this question a complete and glorious answer is found in the Gospel, and there only. God Himself, at infinite cost, has opened a way of peace by which we may return to Him. Peace is offered to all who will receive it as His gift, through our Lord Jesus Christ ”

“ We thought we would find favor with men for bringing them the Gospel of peace, life, and eternal salvation. Instead of favor, we found fury. ”

“ For peace, be it known, dwells even in the midst of affrays, and is to be commended by you all, to the best of your power, to the inhabitants of those regions—to whom you should, as the heralds and vanguard of true evangelical piety, appear as in search not of what is your own, but of what is Jesus Christ's. Moreover, we earnestly exhort your charity in the Lord, as far as lies in our power, to announce the all-holy gospel of Christ to all races, baptizing them that believe in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ”

“ How, then, was it possible for the gospel doctrine of peace, which does not permit men to take vengeance even upon enemies, to prevail throughout the world, unless at the advent of Jesus a milder spirit had been everywhere introduced into the conduct of things? ”

“ While we put forth our own efforts to win this self-conquest, and so school all within us as to enter into peace, Christ is with us securing that our efforts shall not be in vain, giving us the fixed and clear idea of peace as our eternal condition, and giving us also whatever we need to win it. ”

“ The good news of Christ gives peace. So, taking the whole clause, we may paraphrase it by saying that the preparedness of spirit, the alacrity which comes from the possession of a Gospel that sheds a calm over the heart and brings a man into peace with God, is what the Apostle thinks is like the heavy hob-nailed boots that the legionaries wore, by which they could stand firm, whatever came against them. ”

“ Peace within the heart as well as toward others is a fruit of the Gospel. Therefore he who professes peace must at all times and in all relations with his fellow men live a life that is in harmony with the Gospel. We believe that war is altogether contrary to the teaching and spirit of Christ and the Gospel, that therefore war is sin, as is all manner of carnal strife, that it is wrong in spirit and method as well as in purpose, and destructive in its results. ”

“ Reconcilement with God is the foundation, manifestly and of course, of all peace; and this we have as Christ’s direct gift to us. But this fundamental peace, though it will eventually pervade the whole man, does in point of fact only slowly develop into a peace such as our Lord Himself possessed. ”

“ To show their appreciation for the degree of im munity which we have enjoyed hitherto and for the prom ise of future exemption, that our opposition to war is not founded upon disloyalty to our government, but upon the conviction that the Gospel of Christ is the Gospel of peace, and ever pray for our rulers that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. ”

“ And on earth peace, good-will towards men.’ That’s how it goes, I think. Now, Professor Tyndall, one of the greatest scientific men of the day, says that you’ve only to look at the wars that still go on between civilised nations to see that the angels’ song has not been fulfilled—that the gospel has failed to bring about universal peace. And so you see the Christian Bible has not accomplished what it professed to accomplish. ”

“ The main practical difficulty, with some at least of the peace-makers, is, how to carry themselves toward the undoers of peace, the disuniters of souls. Perhaps the most potent of these are not those powers of the church visible who care for canon and dogma more than for truth, and for the church more than for Christ; who take uniformity for unity; who strain at a gnat and swallow a camel, nor knowing what spirit they are of; such men, I say, are perhaps neither the most active nor the most potent force working for the disintegration of the body of Christ. ”

“ In looking at the world around, we may be apt to think that the day is very far off when the Lord's kingdom, shall be established in peace: but to those who, through the regenerating power of Christ, have become subjects of the Prince of Peace, that day has commenced already; and whatever storms may rage without, they will experience peace within. ”

“ As it shall spread through all the nations of the earth, so it shall last through all the ages of the world. We must never expect any other way of salvation, any other covenant of peace or rule of righteousness, than what we have in the gospel, and what we have there shall continue to the end, Mt. ”

“ When the Savior of humanity was born in Bethlehem the sky sang forth, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will to men.' Peace was offered to the world through Christ, and when the spirit of Christ is supreme, there is universal peace—peace among men, peace among nations. ”

“ We shall understand why a Christian observes laws: For the peace of the world, out of gratitude to God, and for a good example that others may be attracted to the Gospel. ”

“ Ye men of piety, who, like Israel of old, have power with God, why do you not besiege the throne of grace, and give the Almighty no rest until he interposes in our behalf? Ye tell us that he is merciful, and hears prayer, and that he governs the universe, having all hearts in his hand. If ten righteous men could have saved Sodom, why do not ye save our land? Why has not some angel been sent to drive back our invading foe, and to fly through the midst of heaven with a proclamation of peace? ”

“ The Christian peace is an armed peace, paradoxical as it appears; and according to the great word of the Apostle, is a sentry which garrisons the beleaguered heart and mind, surrounded by many foes, and keeps them in Christ Jesus. ”

“ As to thee—O thou who art confessing the Oneness of God! —rise with all thy power to keep firm in the Testament of God, and firmly believe that, verily, all troops are defeated save those of the Testament and all banners are reversed, save that of the Covenant of God, which will wave over all horizons and will overshadow the hosts of spirit, love and peace, while agitated by the breeze of the favor of God. ”

“ Lord Jesus Christ, Who saidst to Thy apostles, I leave you peace, I give you My peace: regard not my sins, but the faith of Thy Church, and grant her that peace and unity which is agreeable to Thy will. Who livest and reignest forever and ever. ”